As the Internet has become more mainstream, Internet patrons have become more demanding of the web sites they visit. While Internet patrons once were satisfied with static web pages that provide only textual information, now web sites are expected to provide much more. As more information is demanded from a web site and as market competition on the Internet has increased, web site owners have responded by providing dynamic web pages that include not only text, but also pictures, video, and other data on their web sites.
While this configuration can cause inefficiency in developing web sites, another problem that can result is the inefficiency in the management of the dynamic data on a web site. When an advertiser (web site owner) provides an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or other entity with a desired web site format and included data, the advertiser generally expects that the data can change over time. As a nonlimiting example, an automobile dealer who owns a web site will generally expect that the inventory will change. Therefore, to remain current, the data on the web site will also likely change.
One implementation of a web site with dynamic data includes a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) script that provides the dynamic data. The CGI can receive a request from an Internet user and provide the desired information. The web site can include a database for the customer and have the CGI access the data when the web page is requested. A web site developer can create such a web site, however when creating multiple web sites, the web site developer (or web site designer) can encounter any of a number of problems, including efficiency issues with regard to creation and management of each web site.
There are presently various ways to remedy these problems. First, the web developer can customize an application and database for the web site. This usually takes a lot of time and includes a significant increase in programming that is generally not reusable between web sites. Another option is to build a generic system that can work for many web sites. A problem with this approach is that the data usually does not have the same flow as the other pages on the web site. Additionally a generic system also generally has limited customization. Field names are frequently generic names and the database can handle only certain types of data. Regardless of which implementation is utilized, an on-staff Database Administrator (DBA) is normally desired to manage data that is being displayed. A developmental team including a DBA, CGI programmer, and a web designer is generally desired to build a tool for an advertiser to dynamically update a web site. Since the data in the web site is changing, the presentation of the data may also change, and therefor the Web designer can be consulted by the advertiser to change the HTML code associated with the web site to facilitate the change in data. In fact, significant changes such as adding a new field to the database could require the efforts of the entire team to implement. Inefficiencies in this process can become costly for the advertiser.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.